Hi, I'm a bit of a noob in this area, but basically I have a pair of Sennheiser HD449 and HD 429 (I might upgrade to a more audiophile pair soon also) that I plug right into the headphone jack in the front of my PC but the volume level is lacking, I've adjusted everything I can driver wise, EQ, etc...

2 questions:

Is there a particular mp3/media player software for win 7 that can boost the volume levels? (I use foobar2000 mostly, Winamp occasionally and WMP11 (12?) occasionally.

if that's not feasible, then can someone recommend a good PC headphone amp to use?

Fiio seems to be a popular brand, can I use something as simple as E5 or is E7 or E10 worth the $$?

You can't boost volume in software without distorting 95% of the music that's out there.

The E5 would work, however, and it's cheap. The E7 and E10 are not only amps but also USB DACs, which means that the soundcard in your PC would be completely bypassed and not used. It might be an improvement over it but whether it would be noticeable is another story. The E7 is portable (it has a battery) while the E10 is not.

All three are great value. Which one to get depends on your intended usage. If you just need an amp to boost volume, get the E5. If you want an amp AND a DAC for desktop use, get the E10. If you want it to be portable, get the E7.

THANKS so much for a concise and perfect answer... whew! The E5 sounds like a winner and they have an official sales site in my city (I lucked out) so I can just walk in and buy one, my main issue is just upping the volume levels, my Sony E-465 has great LOUD volume levels so I'm ok with that, again Thanks and Happy "whatever" you might celebrate (or not)

By the way, Daft Punk ROCK, do you listen to a lot of electro? (not the crappy shit at ULTRA festivals) if you like them you should check out early "Greater Than One' from WAXTRAX records